Washington Bridges Were Given a C- By Engineers on Tuesday

Update: The Herald in Everett just reported that everyone is accounted for in Skagit Bridge collapse; "no fatalities."

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Two days ago, the Seattle chapter of the American Society of Engineers gave Washington's bridges a C-, noting that there were "nearly 400 structurally deficient bridges in Washington State.

"36 percent of Washington’s bridges are past their design life of 50 years. Many bridges serve well past this limit, and as time passes, the cost of repairs increase and functionality decreases," the engineers wrote.

The Seattle Times is reporting that the collapsed bridge was deemed "functionally obsolete" in 2000 and 2010. (Update: The Times has removed that information from their story.)

It's too soon to say what caused the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River to collapse, but eyewitnesses are telling several TV stations that a truck with an oversized load struck the bridge's girder, causing it to collapse.